Chapter 332: Exploration of the Dungeon
The boundary with the Dungeon remains as flat as ever. As a precaution, I poke my head in to take a look, but the terrain hasn’t changed since our last visit. Nodding to Rio, we float into the Dungeon together.
“Shall we continue floating for now?”
“That way, we can avoid triggering any traps.”
“Still, we need to be careful; it could be dangerous.”
To avoid alerting any enemies nearby, we communicate through telepathic communication rather than speaking aloud. Floating means we can bypass traps, but we’ve encountered airborne enemies that could impale us on traps before, so we can’t afford to be too optimistic. I conduct another scan of the Dungeon. Since we scanned it last time, this time it’s just an update on information other than the terrain. It seems there’s a monster lurking to the left at the intersection we approached last time.
“Let’s observe carefully at first.”
“Got it. I’ll handle the barrier.”
“Okay, thanks.”
After a brief discussion with Rio, we cautiously enter the intersection while keeping an eye out for traps in the corridor. To the left, I spot a squat silhouette of a four-legged robot in the distance.
As soon as it notices us, it stands on two legs and begins to walk toward us. It resembles a bear, but it doesn’t seem particularly fast. Checking its status, I see its name is “TYPE0314,” and it specializes in strength, boasting a power level of around fifteen thousand.
Just then, I feel a surge of magic power from Rio behind me, and a Spatial Isolation Barrier envelops the area around the enemy. The corridor to the left is about three meters wide, while the bear robot stands around two and a half meters tall. It looks like it could cover the entire corridor with its swinging arms, but since it’s trapped with its arms closed, it seems we can slip past it along the wall.
“It’s got a muscle-bound status, just like it looks.”
“Yeah, it does.”
As we slowly approach, the robot seems to notice us and gets into a defensive stance. It tries to run but collides with the invisible barrier in front of it. It doesn’t seem to realize there’s an unseen wall, as it continues to run in place, slipping on its feet.
“…It looks pretty dumb.”
“If we play it smart, it might be surprisingly weak?”
“That could be the case. But let’s not let our guard down.”
We inch closer to the bear robot. Just as it enters our attack range, it raises its arm to strike. However, it stops mid-swing, blocked by the barrier. It tries to bring its arm down, but again, it’s thwarted by the barrier.
Realizing it can’t do anything, we decide to test its durability while ensuring we remain unharmed, successfully defeating it. It was a simple task of casting magic within the barrier.
“Is that all it takes?”
“But it had more durability than it looked.”
“True enough. …Alright, let’s head to the nearby room next.”
“Okay!”
Assuming there might be treasure in the Dungeon, we make our way to the closest room. So far, all the enemies we’ve encountered have been robots, each named with “TYPE” followed by a four-digit number. They range from four-legged mammals like dogs and cats to reptiles and birds, showcasing a rich variety. Up to now, the highest status we’ve encountered is twenty thousand, and we haven’t faced anything stronger.
“All our tactics seem to be working…”
“I thought this Dungeon would be troublesome, but it’s surprisingly—”
“Shuu, stop!”
Just as I was thinking it might be easy, Rio sends a warning. I halt and turn around, and she informs me that there might be a magical trap ahead. Focusing my gaze ahead, I see thin strands of magic power woven across the corridor. It certainly looks like a trap.
“Wow, I didn’t expect something like this.”
“If we pass through, something might happen, right?”
“I’m curious about what will occur, but the traps in this Dungeon tend to be quite deadly.”
Since we can’t reach the room without passing through here, we have no choice but to proceed.
“Let’s try hitting it with some magic first.”
I take a step back and launch a burst of magic, slicing through the strands of magic like a thread. As the strands dissolve, magic power floods the area, resulting in an explosion at the center of the corridor.
“Whoa, that was pretty intense!”
I quickly cast a barrier to shield us from the blast and direct the wind down the corridor to clear our view. The entire Dungeon trembles, indicating the explosion had considerable power.
“The walls of the Dungeon don’t seem too damaged.”
Perhaps because the explosion was brief, there wasn’t much heat lingering. As we pass the epicenter and head deeper into the corridor, the room we initially aimed for comes into view. There’s no door at the entrance, and we can see inside. It’s about the size of half a school classroom—an elongated rectangular room with depth.
“There’s something at the back.”
While the left and right walls are smooth, something is visible on the back wall. It looks like various items are displayed there. I use Spatial Magic to scan the room in detail.
“Ah, there are plenty of traps that activate upon touch, so be careful not to touch the ground, walls, or ceiling.”
“Understood.”
Rio checks for magical traps as well and confirms there are no issues. We cautiously navigate through the trap-laden area of the room until we reach the front of the back wall.
The wall is adorned with shelves and stakes, displaying a variety of items. There are trophies of monsters, intricately designed swords, and bottles filled with various potions—truly a diverse collection.
I’m certainly intrigued, but what should we do now?
“This looks like it could be a trap too.”
Rio’s telepathic message confirms what I already suspected. There are numerous traps lying in wait in the space beyond the wall.
“It seems like they activate when you try to lift something.”
“Ugh.”
As I relay my thoughts, I hear a strange groan from Rio.